157 - Chapter 10: Prologue
The temple in the capital of Zain.
The temple, which looked like a castle, seemed to shine in the sunlight. The blue sky stretched wide, and the people of the capital were gathered around.
Until a short while ago, this was a place where war had occurred. But now, it had regained its composure.
Amidst the bustle, the promotion of the Holy Knights to a formal order of knights was announced, and at the same time, the dissolution of the Holy Knights was declared.
With Aura Zain as the Saintess, a new system was about to be constructed.
At the ceremony, those who had contributed to the current achievements were lined up.
However, Crate-san, the vice-commander of the Holy Knights, was looking to the side with a dissatisfied expression. At the end of his gaze, Albano-san was lined up with a smirking expression.
Albano-san's subordinates were also lined up, as the achievements of those behind the scenes were evaluated this time, which is why they were here.
Crate-san, who did not know this, looked resentful.
Wearing armor that was only polished for appearance, I cautioned Crate-san in a low voice.
"Crate-san, we are in the middle of a ceremony."
Looking frustrated, Crate-san looked forward and grumbled at me.
"Lyell-kun, why did you invite Albano? That man has neither ambition nor any loyalty whatsoever."
The serious Crate-san is certainly capable. However, when it comes to managing the knights, he also had the flaw of being far too serious.
I felt that Albano-san was necessary to supplement Crate-san.
"I invited him. Besides, behind-the-scenes work would be difficult for you, wouldn't it, Crate-san? I'm going to have him handle things like investigations, rumors, and various other important tasks."
"That is exactly why! To entrust such things to that man..."
As the ceremony progressed, Crate-san remained displeased throughout.
As for me, I am working busily in the new system of Zain. After all, there are few civil officials. The military officials are mostly a collection of amateurs.
Additionally, since the Holy Knights were dissolved, a new unit had to be organized.
(...I don't have enough time. It's impossible. If I do everything here myself, it will take years.)
The blue orb hanging from my neck contains the skills and records of the successive heads of the family.
While I am glad I listened to the advice of the successive heads, there has been something bothering me lately.
(Even so, it's been quiet recently.)
Usually, they were noisy enough to be annoying, but recently they don't respond unless I speak to them first.
I am concerned, but I have been too busy to have the luxury of asking why.
Furthermore, the operation was about to transition to the next stage.
(Now then, next is Selva. Rolfis's movements are sluggish, but I wonder if it'll be okay.)
Because victory was achieved quickly in Zain, the policy on the Rolfis side was about to shift toward maintaining the status quo.
(Sigh, do I have to be the one to move again?)
Once the ceremony ended, I organized documents in the office I was given.
The ones helping me are Novem, Miranda, Monica, and Clara. At times like this, Aria, Shannon, Eva, and May are useless.
Documents were piled high on the desk, and as I processed them, I could hear the voice of the Fourth Generation.
"Hmm, this is important, so let's allocate the funds. Oops, not that one. It's not a calculation error, it's intentionally wrong. The person who created this is incompetent. Note their name and demote them. The next document is... ah, the priority is high, but it's probably impossible for now."
The documents coming my way were clearly not things I should be seeing. Moreover, I was involved in a wide variety of work, and the information in Zain was completely transparent to me.
The reason I was being given such work—it was a severe shortage of manpower.
When the door to the room was knocked, the temple officials brought another massive amount of documents into my room.
As I looked at the documents with a twitching cheek, the officials spoke.
"U-Um... it was by the instructions of High Priest Gastone. It seems it will still take some time to call back the priests from the provinces."
I looked down and pointed to the place to put the documents. After having them take the processed documents away, I asked Clara to do some work.
"Clara, please sort the documents."
Clara, who stood up from her chair, had a truly exhausted expression as she looked at the pile where the new documents were placed.
A single sentence.
"If these were books, I wouldn't feel any fatigue."
Saying so, she proceeded to sort the documents. The reason I was processing the documents coming up was that the priests under the High Priest who had been in the temple belonged to the opposing faction.
I considered incorporating them, but the Fourth Generation said one thing.
"Ah, these guys are useless. It would be a nuisance even if we sent them to the provinces. Exile them from the country."
That was because he had said that.
Thanks to that, Gastone-san has had consecutive all-nighters, and I am taking breaks in shifts. Monica has been helping by processing documents more than I imagined, so it was a lifesaver.
However, they keep coming one after another, so the processing can't keep up.
Monica, her blonde twin-tails flailing.
"Why paper media! If this were electronic data, it would be much more efficient! I could manage a whole country like this by myself!"
I looked at Monica.
"Are you tired? You can go on break now. Switch with Miranda."
Miranda was taking a nap on the sofa, and I told her to switch with Monica. Then, Monica stood up and spread her arms.
"What is with that attitude! Give me more attention! I worked hard! I stayed up late preparing costumes and armor, improving the porters... and yet the treatment is too light! Just because you're called the Knight of Love, don't let it go to your head, you chicken coward!"
Irritated, I stood up and pointed at Monica.
"It's not like I like being called the Knight of Love! I told you to rest if you're tired, so what do you dislike about that!"
Monica.
"Dammit!! No matter what, my wonderfulness doesn't get through to this chicken coward!! ...Sigh, I'll prepare some tea. And some light snacks too."
Perhaps having screamed, she calmed down, and Monica tried to leave the room to prepare the tea.
Then, while sorting documents, Clara spoke.
"I'll have a sandwich."
Novem, who had been processing documents dispassionately, also looked up.
"The same for me. That would be easier to prepare."
Monica, who felt miffed by Novem's words, turned her gaze toward me.
"...Prepare sandwiches and drinks for three people. No, four people."
The one who slowly woke up on the sofa was Miranda, her hair disheveled. She looked sleepy, and as she stretched, the neckline of her shirt opened, revealing her bra.
As I immediately averted my eyes, the Fourth Generation spoke.
"Lyell, your face is red. What are you doing over something like this?"
While I was thinking he was noisy, the Fifth Generation conveyed the Fourth Generation's state.
"...No, your face is red too? If Mama were here, you'd be punched."
"Don't tell her!"
As I turned my eyes back to the documents, Monica, who was about to leave the room, looked frustrated.
"Even when I give subtle appeals, he doesn't react... T-This chicken coward!!"
Pretending to cry, she left the room. However, she closed the door properly. She is a dutiful person.
When the room became quiet, Miranda also left the room to wash her face. Everyone resumed work without speaking.
—The royal castle of Rolfis.
There, Lombolt was holding a meeting with the ministers.
"The other day, Zain formally requested the conclusion of an alliance. This is good. But at the same time, they asked to proceed with that matter as well."
Several days had already passed since May delivered the letter.
A formal envoy visited Rolfis to apologize and informed them that Aura could not move in the current situation. Given the circumstances, Rolfis did not seek for Aura to come and apologize.
In the first place, Aura was not very involved in Zain's invasion of Rolfis. Rather, from Rolfis's perspective, she was an ally.
However, the problem was "that matter"—it was a proposal to invade Selva together.
One of the ministers spoke.
"If we cannot recover the territories from Zain, seizing them from Selva to recover national strength is essential. What is there to hesitate about! Besides, we should have both been satisfied with that, right?"
The Knight Commander also spoke.
"...Many mercenary groups have gathered in Rolfis as well. If there is no war as it is, they might commit looting within the country. I support the invasion of Selva."
Lombolt, the Prime Minister, had also made a deal with Gastone.
After the recovery of Zain, they would invade Selva together, and the territories would belong to Rolfis. In exchange for not returning the places that were originally Rolfis's territories, they had agreed on a deal to provide soldiers.
However, Lombolt had not expected them to win to this extent.
In truth, Lombolt also wanted to invade and recover national strength. However, he had also grasped the fact that Selva was moving behind the scenes—.
"The Princess refuses. She says the war is already over. Moreover, she is not considering the annulment of her engagement to Dario."
The heavyweights of the country felt like holding their heads. One of them slammed his fist onto the table.
"What is she thinking! After causing this much trouble, what does she mean by asking for forgiveness! Prime Minister, have you failed in the Princess's education!"
The Knight Commander glared at the angry minister.
"I will pretend I didn't hear that statement. But there will not be a next time."
The minister, irritated, slammed his fist on the table again. Everyone felt the same. After a while of no one opening their mouth, Lombolt spoke.
"We won too much. And too brilliantly. If it ends here, the damage is minimal."
Lyell and the others' victory was too brilliant, and Rolfis's response was delayed.
After all, they thought it would take several months—or even years. They had not imagined it would be accomplished in such a short period.
Lombolt had intended to direct the national sentiment—the dissatisfaction—toward Selva if damage occurred. However, the war ended with only a few skirmishes occurring.
One of the ministers spoke.
"Don't be ridiculous! I know national sentiment is important. But you know what the situation is right now! Do you know with what feelings we have endured... Some knights were sent to earn a living as adventurers, and there are those who threw away their swords and took up hoes."
More than twenty years ago—.
Zain seized Rolfis's territories. This was a story from when Fort Noineel was the front line.
However, that much time had passed, and since the Princess was born after that, it was a fact that she felt it was natural.
Lombolt let out a sigh.
"...It is not that we are afraid of Selva and won't attack. The one we are truly afraid of is Zain. How can we be sure that we won't be used as the vanguard for the invasion of Selva and then have Rolfis seized as well? The opponent is a man who seized Zain with only a hundred men. Now, he could probably take Rolfis in his hand as well."
Being told that, the heavyweights fell silent.
When they saw him in the audience chamber, they weren't that conscious of it. According to Alette, he was a capable adventurer—. From his posture, he was thought to be a fallen knight.
However, upon investigating, the name of the Walt family of the great nation Banseime came up.
They are vassals of Banseime, but their territory is larger than Rolfis's. Is he really the son of the Walt family, the strongest in Banseime?
They had thought so, but now such things didn't matter.
After all, it's amazing enough to defeat a large army with a small force, but Lyell stole a country with a hundred men. That fact terrified Lombolt.
Then, the Knight Commander spoke.
"But it is also a fact that we agreed to the deal. He might attack us using the unilateral breach of contract as a reason. Mercenary groups still remain in Zain."
The heavyweights felt as if they were dancing in the palm of Lyell's hand. It was scary to keep the promise. It was scary to break it.
The meeting came to an end without reaching a conclusion—.
"Rolfis isn't moving."
Slumping over the desk, I wanted to cry at the mountain of documents that wouldn't be cleared and the status quo that wouldn't move.
Novem rubbed my back.
"I-It's okay, Lyell-sama. They are probably just confused right now, and they will likely prepare themselves soon."
I looked up and felt despair seeing the mountain of documents.
"...I promised to participate until the next war. If it doesn't end, this paperwork will just continue like this, won't it?"
Then, Miranda, who stood up, tried to wander outside.
"Miranda?"
"I'll bring Aria and the others. We lack manpower. If we teach them a bit, they can at least do paperwork..."
Unlike the usual composed Miranda, she looked as if she were trying to drag Aria and the others into this hell.
I stopped Miranda.
"Remember the first day! We concluded that the time to teach Aria is a waste. How many weeks do you think it would take even if one person spent all their time teaching her?"
Then, Miranda, who looked back, looked as if she were about to cry.
"But! If the situation doesn't move like this, we'll never be able to escape from this work!"
They were cornered. We were now more cornered than on the battlefield.
Novem also looked at the mountain of documents.
"Monica-san has other work too. We've entrusted her with tasks we can't do. Aura-san and Selma-san are also busy. Besides, Gastone-san is on the same level as us or even more so."
They called back the priests of the same faction and were working, but even so, they couldn't keep up.
I turned my eyes to the documents on the desk.
It was Crate-san's handwriting.
In the documents, the unification of the Holy Knights' equipment and a design were attached.
The voice of the Fourth Generation spoke. It was a dry laugh.
"Ahahaha... rejected. Also, Lyell, shall we subtly increase the training and work for Crate and the others? It seems they still have some leeway."
While deciding in my heart to increase Crate-san's work, I thought.
(Why isn't Rolfis moving! At this rate, we'll never escape from this hell!)